Non-Profit News Sustainability and "Why News Matters"

Fast and furious action on the nonprofit news tax-exempt status/financial sustainability front. For your consideration:

• The Council on Foundations is forming a Nonprofit Media Working Group that by the end of the year will recommend what tax changes or clarifications could better enable such news organizations to meet the information needs of communities. The working group, spearheaded by Eric Newton of the Knight Foundation and chaired by Steve Waldman of the Columbia Journalism School, will set its course during a March 1 teleconference.  I am honored to serve as a member of the group.
• I also participated in a recent Patterson Foundation-hosted conference in Sarasota, Fla., on financial sustainability for nonprofit journalism start-ups.  Patterson’s Janet Coats and Kevin Davis, executive director of the Investigative News Network, led the discussion among foundation leaders, nonprofit news publishers and media consultants. Coats’ report on the proceedings hits the high notes.
• Obituaries on the dearly departed Chicago News Cooperative (CNC) cited the lack of fundraising traction and the inability to snare IRS tax-exempt status. It’s probably best to allow what the Chicago Tribune hailed as “a bold experiment at supplementing or supplanting daily newspapers” to rest in peace. Good people...good idea…partnership with the New York Times…but things just didn’t work out. Others will continue to fight on in hopes of gathering foundation grants, affluent local family charitable funds, content partners, dues-paying members and paid subscribers. And you may want to check out the Columbia Journalism Review's update on the CNC.
• The McCormick Foundation, a long-time supporter of nonprofit journalism news organizations, will be part of the solution. We continue to fund groups such as The Chicago Reporter, INN, the Center for Public Integrity and university-based news initiatives at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois. And we’ll see what role the tax-exempt journalism model plays in our Why News Matters grantmaking initiative.

By our reckoning, nearly 1,000 interested parties have locked into McCormick Media Matters, watched the Why News Matters video or checked out the Request for Ideas. The deadline for submitting ideas is April 2, 2012.  Here are some pertinent links:

• Find out more about the Why News Matters initiative and request for ideas at http://www.whynewsmatters.org/.
• Download the complete “printer friendly” version of the Why News Matters Request for Ideas and application packet. 
• Check out the Frequently Asked Questions. 
• Share the Why News Matters video with colleagues and friends. 
• Review a list of news literacy resources. 
• Sign-up for an upcoming webinar or in-person information session on March 9, 16 and 27, at 3pm CT. 

Please help us spread the word via social media.

• Have a project idea for news literacy? Apply for a @McCormickJrnlsm Why News Matters grant fb.me/GfB7j9ls
• $6 million in news literacy grants available. Apply now for @McCormickJrnlsm Why News Matters grant fb.me/GfB7j9ls

--Clark Bell, Journalism Program Director

Read the full story

Chicago High School Teachers: Apply Now to Join the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative

A McCormick Foundation-funded project can help your high school reporters create a comprehensive media package that will address and critically analyze a topic of great interest to teen readers.Teachers will select the topic prior to the 2012-13 school year and student journalists will produce a print, broadcast or digital report that analyzes the topic and how it impacts their audiences.

The project is open to 12 Chicago-area high schools. Teachers will attend an in-service prior to the 2012-2013 school year to learn how to apply news literacy to their journalism curriculum. Regular interaction between the student journalists is included in this program.

During this one-year collaboration, journalism and media advisers from across the city and suburbs – print and broadcast alike - will decide on the timely topic to cover. Participating journalism programs will go about their usual reporting, but also produce a special report on the topic chosen by the group. Stories will be due in early 2013 and compiled on a dedicated website and disseminated to mainstream news organization partners.


This project is coordinated by the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative, which supports and promotes journalism education through advocacy, outreach and resources. Letters of application should be sent to the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative at MidwestJEI@gmail.com by April 30, 2012.


Download the flyer and application instructions>

Read the full story

2012 Chicago Journalism, Art and Media (C-JAM) Educator Technology Fund

The C-JAM fund isn't just an equipment grant, but an opportunity to receive the support, training, and knowledge to engage youth in deeper and more thoughtful practices in media arts and journalism.


Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), is pleased to announce the 2012 Chicago Journalism, Art and Media (C-JAM) Educator Equipment Fund. The goal of this fund, sponsored by the McCormick Foundation’s Journalism Program, is to help educators gain access to the technology they need to better integrate journalism and media making into learning. 

Educators will receive equipment packages as well as professional development and training to support their efforts. Potential applicants are educators who currently incorporate media production in their classrooms or in their youth programs or are highly motivated to get started.

More information about C-JAM, the Fund, and the Equipment Packages can be found in the attached flyer (PDF) or by visiting http://cjam.edc.org/.

To apply for the Equipment Fund, visit the C-JAM Equipment Fund Application:

http://cjam.edc.org/equipment_fund
Note that you will be asked to complete the application online.  It is recommended that you compile all the information necessary to apply before filling out the application as there is no way to save a draft.

Deadline to apply has been extended to March 30, 2012.

 Any questions about the fund or the application process can be directed to http://www.blogger.com/cjam@edc.org.  

Read the full story

Announcing Why News Matters, A New Grantmaking Initiative

Today is the formal launch of our Why News Matters initiative. We are excited and curious about response to this new request for ideas (RFI), designed to enhance news literacy in Chicago. We expect to invest about $6 million over the next three years in Why News Matters grants. 

The initiative will build on the strong student and teacher training programs at the core of McCormick Foundation's news literacy funding since 2009. We now intend to expand news literacy training in more ways and engage broader audiences throughout the Chicago area.

News literacy is the ability to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of news reports and information sources. It enables citizens to become smarter consumers and creators of fact-based information. It helps them develop informed perspectives and the navigational skills to become effective citizens in a digitally connected society. News literacy programs also emphasize the importance of news and information, the value of reliable sources and appreciation of First Amendment freedoms.

The goal of this RFI is to significantly expand news literacy efforts throughout Chicago. We will solicit ideas and later fund a portfolio of high-impact projects.

Details about the RFI can be found on the Journalism Program section of the McCormick Foundation web site and on the Why News Matters section of the McCormick Media Matters blog.

Apply online through our online grant application system. Note: If you are a new user of the system, you'll need to enter your e-mail address and create a password. If  you already are registered with us, you can use your existing McCormick Grant Request log in and password. (Current grantees: This is the same log in and password you used to complete your year-end grant reports). 

We also have included a list of 20 Frequently Asked Questions about the RFI. In addition, we will conduct one webinar and two in-person informational sessions for those interested in learning more about this new initiative. You must register to attend these informational sessions.

Depending on the yield of the RFI harvest (remember the April 2 deadline), we expect to invest about $2 million in 2013 in Why News Matters projects. In addition, we anticipate investing another $4 million in the following two years.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Clark Bell
Journalism Program Director

Read the full story

Why News Matters: Request for Ideas

Introduction
The Robert R. McCormick Foundation’s Journalism Program is launching Why News Matters, a grantmaking program designed to enhance news literacy skills and programs in Chicago.The McCormick Foundation plans to invest as much as $6 million over the next three years in the Why News Matters initiative.

News literacy is the ability to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of news reports and information sources. It enables citizens to become smarter consumers and creators of fact-based information. It helps them develop informed perspectives and the navigational skills to become effective citizens in a digitally connected society. News literacy programs also emphasize the importance of news and information, the value of reliable sources and appreciation of First Amendment freedoms.

The Why News Matters initiative will build on the strong news literacy youth and teacher training programs that have been the core of the McCormick Foundation’s journalism funding since 2009. Since then, we’ve learned more about young people and how they access news and information. But we also have much to learn. In addition to our youth work, we hope to expand the initiative to engage broader Chicago-area audiences.

Goal
The goal of this Request for Ideas is to significantly expand news literacy efforts throughout Chicago. We will solicit ideas and then fund a portfolio of high-impact projects. Organizations selected for funding will carry out multi-faceted approaches of expanding news literacy efforts throughout the Chicago area. We believe the Why News Matters initiative will yield a better informed and civically engaged citizenry.

Need
With the overwhelming flood of information, it’s harder than ever for consumers to distinguish news from noise. A 2010 Pew Research Center survey found that 70 percent of respondents feel overwhelmed by the amount of news and information from different sources, and 72 percent think most sources of news are biased.

A healthy 21^st Century democracy relies on informed citizens with the ability to access and analyze information. For example, preliminary research from Stony Brook University shows that students who have taken a news literacy course are more likely to register to vote and increase their exposure to news sources than students who have not taken the course.

We ask your assistance to help Chicagoans understand Why News Matters. Media organizations, high schools, universities, two-year colleges, community organizations, libraries and others all have a role to play. To learn more about our vision, view the video below.

Scope

The McCormick Foundation is looking for innovative ideas to extend our reach and impact in news literacy to Chicagoans of all ages and backgrounds. We are interested in supporting projects that address:

• Education: Integrate news literacy into public schools, after-school programs and community education settings. May include blending news literacy into Common Core classroom lessons.
• Training: Provide opportunities for Chicagoans to learn and teach others about news literacy. May include curriculum for adults and train-the-trainer workshops.
• Awareness & Engagement: Increase public understanding of news literacy principles. May include marketing campaigns, social media, web portals, apps, games, art programs and public service announcements.
• Research & Evaluation: Evaluate the impact of news literacy on student performance and civic engagement. May include program evaluation, design and implementation of assessment tools and other research on a sector-wide or project-level basis.

Why News Matters will not replace the Journalism Program’s current grantmaking framework of Content, Audience and Rights. Rather, it is intended to better focus the current framework and make it more effective in addressing news literacy needs in Chicago. To better understand the CAR grantmaking framework, review the Journalism Grantmaking Guidelines and our current Logic Model. We anticipate that most Why News Matters projects will fall under the Audience category of funding, while a few may fall within the Content and Rights categories.

Learning and Action Agenda

At its best, news literacy programs help citizens develop critical thinking skills, civic responsibility and respect for First Amendment freedoms. There are many aspects of news literacy we hope to better understand in coming years. Here are some of the questions we have discussed in creating Why News Matters:

• To what degree will civic engagement and knowledge of current events increase through news literacy programs?
• How do news literacy programs impact student success?
• What are the most effective ways to engage middle school, high school and college students in news literacy?
• Research indicates that the principles of news literacy are best learned through interactive, hands-on learning. Do students make strides in news literacy by creating and consuming content that addresses topics of importance to youth?
• Can news literacy content be incorporated into curriculum implementing Common Core standards? What other opportunities are there to apply the values of news literacy in Common Core curriculum? What are the most effective ways to engage adults and seniors in news literacy activities?
• Can news literacy be incorporated with existing adult literacy programs? What about existing job training programs?
• Are there strategies for engaging specific ethnic groups?
• What role can youth play in teaching people of all ages the principles of news literacy?
• Is there potential for news literacy programs to collaborate with other literacies – financial, health and civic?
• How does news literacy overlap with Digital Literacy, Information Literacy and Media Literacy?
• Are there effective ways for news organizations to engage their audiences in news literacy?
• What shared activities, web portals, and collective learning might help bring ‘glue’ to the individual projects funded through this initiative?

Please visit our Why News Matters resources page for links to news literacy programs and research.

Application                                                                                                             

To apply, register as a user and fill out this brief application form on our online application system. Note: If you are a new user to our online application system, you'll need to enter your e-mail address and create a password. If you already are registered with us, you can use your existing McCormick Grant Request log in and password. (Current grantees: This is the same log in and password you used to complete your year-end grant reports). 

The application form includes:   

• Your idea: Give us your elevator pitch. (100 words or less)
• Audience: Who would your initiative target and why? (50 words or less)
• Timeline: Provide a rough overview of the time frame. (50 words or less)
• Budget: What is the estimated cost of the program? (25 words or less)
• Mission statement: Copy and paste your organization’s mission statement.
• Expertise: Why is your organization suited to carry out the project? (50 words or less)
• Evaluation: How you would evaluate the impact of your project? (50 words or less)
• Additional thoughts: Anything else you’d like to add.(50 words or less)

The deadline for submissions is April 2, 2012. Organizations can apply with more than one idea. If your application is selected, we will contact you by late April to request a more detailed letter of inquiry. By mid-June, selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals.

Grant winners will be notified in September 2012 and will receive their funding in January 2013.

Ideas can be submitted by 501c3 nonprofit organizations, as well as individuals and businesses partnering with tax-exempt organizations. If you are invited to submit a final proposal, you must select a fiscal agent that is a 501c3.

This initiative is focused on the Chicago area, though we will consider select national programs that have impact on news literacy in Chicago.

Funding

The Foundation plans to invest as much as $2 million in 2013 in the Why News Matters initiative, and we anticipate investing another $4 million in the following two years. In 2013, the majority of projects are likely to be one-year demonstration grants. A select group may be funded for two years or longer. We are in the final stages of developing a news literacy logic model that will shape Why News Matters as a multi-year initiative around tiered outcomes. 

Consult the Why News Matters section of the McCormick Media Matters program blog, which will include a list of FAQs, additional resources and information on upcoming Q&A sessions and webinars. We look forward to hearing from you by April 2, 2012.

If you have questions or comments, please e-mail Aaron Smith at asmith@mccormickfoundation.org. The Journalism Program staff will review your question and get back to you by phone or e-mail. 


Download this RFI as a PDF>

Read the full story